This invention relates generally to apparatus for dispensing beverages constituted from hot water, powder and flavouring syrups. More particulars, the apparatus relates to automated dispensing apparatus to produce a hot beverage, such as, hot chocolate, hot cappuccino, hot powdered teas and the like, from heated water supply, a base powder and a flavouring syrup selected from one or more of a plurality of syrups.
Heretofore, hot beverages, such as hot Cappuccino and hot chocolate have been typically dispensed from automated dispensing apparatus having a product container, a boiler to heat water, a solenoid dispense valve, and a mixing system. Where the drink is a hot drink product, the flavouring product is typically a powder. Consequently, the powdered drink constituent, for example cappuccino, is maintained within a product hopper container. Where a variety of flavours are dispensed from the apparatus, a corresponding product hopper container is utilized for each flavour variety. When the product is to be dispensed, an activation button is depressed and the selected powder is dispensed from its hopper container into the mixing system. At the same time, a hot water solenoid valve opens to allow the entry of hot water into the mixing system. The powdered flavour, for example cappuccino, is mixed with the water and dispensed through the mixing system. As each of the available flavouring powders is maintained in a separate hopper, there are consequently several hoppers required to provide for the choice of drinks available from the dispenser. Thus, with the aforementioned dispensing systems available in the market today, the flavouring powders, for example, the cappuccino powders are pre-flavoured with a variety of flavourings. For example, providing a French vanilla cappuccino flavour requires French vanilla cappuccino powder and an associated product hopper container; an amarretto cappuccino flavour would be dispensed from the amarretto cappuccino powder product hopper container; and an Irish cream cappuccino flavour dispensed from the Irish cream cappuccino powder product container and so forth. An example of the type of multi-flavour beverage dispensers available is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,553 to Ford which provides a powdered beverage mixing and dispensing apparatus having three powdered flavour product hoppers each with associated mixing and dispensing apparatus.
Where the operator desires to offer a variety of flavours, generally three flavours are made available. Providing a multi-flavour dispenser capable of dispensing three flavours is considered the maximum number of flavours that can conveniently be dispensed from a multi-flavour dispenser. For multi-flavour dispensers, a three flavour dispenser has become a standard multi-flavour dispense product offering in the industry. The reason that the industry standard has been limited to three flavours, is that to add an additional new flavoured cappuccino to the machine, the dispenser will become bigger and wider. For example, the average hot drink or cappuccino dispensers available are approximately 14xe2x80x3 wide. For a single flavour dispenser, a large product hopper container is provided which provides the greatest possible number of drinks dispensable without requiring refilling servicing. When a multi-flavour product dispense is provided, multiple product hopper containers are provided with a consequent decrease in the storage volume available to any one product. Thus, when the variety of product flavours available increases to three, the product hopper size for each individual product flavour is decreased. Consequently, the dispenser apparatus must be refilled more frequently to refill each of the smaller product hopper containers as they become emptied, unless, of course, the identical number of drinks of each flavour is dispensed.
To provide additional flavours beyond three requires the operator to purchase an additional unit to hold additional product hopper containers and associated equipment including an additional dispense valve, additional mixing systemxe2x80x94in essence, a second dispenser apparatus. However, in the food service industry, counter space is a valuable commodity. Therefore, the operators are not inclined to add any additional flavours to support extra drink flavouring choice beyond three because the equipment to provide extra choices beyond three would take up too much additional counter space. Put another way, the incremental increase in returns from providing an extra flavour is not justified by the added revenues obtained from the use of additional counter space. As a result, the operator has turned away some customers who may appreciate alternate flavours because it wouldn""t be worth the extra expense of taking up additional counter space.
The present invention provides apparatus that conserves counter space while being able to provide multi-flavour products to their customers.
The present invention provides a multi-flavour dispenser that is adapted to dispense more than three flavours while conserving counter space to the same requirement as needed for a single flavour dispenser or a multi-flavour dispenser capable of dispensing three flavours.
Moreover, the present invention provides a multi-flavour dispenser apparatus which requires less frequent refill servicing to support a multi-flavour choice than traditional multi-flavour dispensing apparatus.
The apparatus of the present invention includes a system for dispensing a base powder, including means for dispensing hot water, a mixing system to mix the base powder and hot water, and a flavouring system which adds flavours to the base powder in order to dispense the desired flavour and a control activatable to dispense the base powder, the water and the flavour dosing systems and to mix the dispensed constituents. The flavourings are liquid flavourings that are located remotely from the counter top dispenser and the flavours are supplied to the dispenser for mixing with the other hot drink constituents by pump or gravity feed.
In one of its aspects, the invention provides apparatus to dispense a hot drink having a hopper with a hopper dispenser outlet including a motor driven auger dispenser along a bottom side thereof operable to dispense a base powder from the hopper dispenser outlet in response to a powder dispense signal and a hot water boiler with a water inlet and a water outlet, the boiler including means to apply controlled heating to water contained in the boiler and a hot water dispensing means operable to dispense water via the water outlet in response to a water dispense signal. The invention includes a plurality of liquid flavour dispensers, each liquid flavour dispenser is selectively activatable to dispense a flavour syrup from a flavour syrup supply. A mixer means has an outlet port and the mixer means is in communication with the hopper dispenser outlet, the water dispensing means and each liquid flavour dispenser. The mixer means is adapted to mix the hot drink constituents dispensed from these dispensers and provide the mixed hot drink constituents from the outlet port. Control means is included having user activatable selection means to produce the powder dispense signal, water dispense signal and a selected flavour dispense signal in response to user activation of the selection means.
In another of its aspects, the invention provides apparatus to dispense a hot drink comprising a hopper with a hopper dispenser outlet including a motor driven auger dispenser along a bottom side thereof activatable to dispense a base powder from the hopper dispenser outlet. A hot water boiler, with a water inlet and a water outlet, is included and has means to apply controlled heating to water contained in the boiler. The boiler has a hot water dispensing means activatable to dispense water via the water outlet. A plurality of liquid flavour dispensers is included, each liquid flavour dispenser is selectively activatable to dispense a flavour syrup from a flavour syrup supply and a mixer means having an outlet port. The mixer means is in communication with the hopper dispenser outlet, water outlet and each of the flavour dispensers and is adapted to mix the hot drink constituents dispensed from the dispensers and to provide the mixed hot drink constituents at the mixer outlet port. Also included is activation means to activate the auger, hot water dispenser and a selected liquid flavour dispenser in response to user manipulation whereby a user selected flavoured hot drink is dispensed from the mixer outlet port.
And in yet another of its aspects, the invention provides apparatus to dispense a hot drink comprising: a hopper with a hopper dispenser outlet including a motor driven auger dispenser along a bottom side thereof activatable to dispense a base powder from the hopper dispenser outlet and a hot water boiler with a water inlet and a water outlet, the boiler includes means to apply controlled heating to water contained in the boiler and a hot water dispensing means activatable to dispense water via the water outlet. The apparatus further includes a plurality of liquid flavour dispensers, each liquid flavour dispenser is selectively activatable to dispense a flavour syrup from a flavour syrup supply and mixer means having an outlet port. The mixer means is in communication with the hopper dispenser outlet, the water outlet and each flavour dispenser and the mixer is adapted to the mix hot drink constituents dispensed therefrom and provide the mixed hot drink constituents at the mixer outlet port. The dispenser apparatus also has a hopper sensor to produce an activation enable signal but, for a predetermined amount of a base powder contained in the hopper, the hopper sensor will produce an activation disable signal. There are a plurality of liquid flavour dispensers, each liquid flavour dispenser is selectively activatable to dispense a flavour syrup from a flavour syrup supply; and user actuable activation means to activate the auger, hot water dispenser and a selected liquid flavour dispenser in response to user manipulation and activation enable signal whereby a user selected flavoured hot drink is dispensed from the mixer outlet port.
In yet another of its aspects, the invention provides a liquid flavouring syrup connector adapted for use with hot drink dispense apparatus comprising a main body forming a passage connecting an inlet and an outlet, means to engage the inlet to a drink dispenser apparatus drink dispenser outlet and at least one liquid supply port formed in the main body with the port in communication with the passage all whereby flavouring syrup supplied to the liquid supply port will flow into the passage.
In yet another of its aspects, the invention provides a method of producing a flavoured hot drink of a selected flavour comprising the steps of: supplying a portion of a base powder, supplying a portion of hot water; supplying a portion of a selected flavouring syrup and mixing each supplied portion to form a flavoured hot drink.
And in yet a further aspect, the invention provides a method of producing a flavoured hot drink comprising the steps of: receiving a flavour selection; and mixing a controlled portion of a base powder with a corresponding controlled portion of hot water and corresponding controlled portion of a selected flavouring syrup.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a method of producing a flavoured hot drink comprising the steps of: receiving a drink selection; producing a flavoured hot drink supply by performing the steps of: supplying a base powder at a predetermined rate; supplying hot water at a corresponding rate; continuously mixing the base powder with the hot water to produce an intermediate hot drink supply. Next, supplying a hot drink flavouring corresponding to the received drink selection and admixing the hot drink flavouring supply with the intermediate hot drink to produce a flavoured hot drink supply and continuing the production of the flavoured hot drink supply until the volume produced corresponds to the received drink selection.